Looking at GS300 (3rd Gen)

inflames · March 28, 2016

As a few of you may know dam currently looking at buying a GS300, I went to view a 2006 GS300 LE with 70k miles on the clock on Friday at a independent dealer, the car appeared to be fine at first. When i asked about the history the day before i got told it had a full service history, looking at the history i get told that the service book has been lost and the history is all paper work. It only had a couple of previous MOT’s, the so called history seemed a little vague at best a few invoices not what I expecting to see at all. I didn’t get the chance to take it for a test drive as i had the family with me, i have agreed to go back on wednesday to take a test drive, what i plan to do so i know that GS is what i am after and so that i can expand my search area to find the correct car for me.

Anyone got any good tips what to look for apart from the normal?

madfish · March 28, 2016

Yup, go for a 430 :D

Much better engines, more power, bettwe reliability and only slightly worse fuel consumption. ..

royoftherovers · March 28, 2016

4 minutes ago, inflames said:

As a few of you may know dam currently looking at buying a GS300, I went to view a 2006 GS300 LE with 70k miles on the clock on Friday at a independent dealer, the car appeared to be fine at first. When i asked about the history the day before i got told it had a full service history, looking at the history i get told that the service book has been lost and the history is all paper work. It only had a couple of previous MOT’s, the so called history seemed a little vague at best a few invoices not what I expecting to see at all. I didn’t get the chance to take it for a test drive as i had the family with me, i have agreed to go back on wednesday to take a test drive, what i plan to do so i know that GS is what i am after and so that i can expand my search area to find the correct car for me.

Anyone got any good tips what to look for apart from the normal?

Good luck Aaron.

Check the DVLA MOT website for its MOT history and

ask the local Lexus Dealer if they can tell you of its Service history from their computerised records.

And speak soonest with the previous owner.

Regards

Johni

inflames · March 28, 2016

3 hours ago, madfish said:

Yup, go for a 430 :D

Much better engines, more power, bettwe reliability and only slightly worse fuel consumption. ..

To be honest i was after a GS450H, but the boot is not bigger enough.

royoftherovers · March 28, 2016

I can just fit two full sized golf bags with clubs and shoes Aaron. The size is restricted by positioning of the Hybrid Battery.

Do let us all know how you get on.

Regards

John

Floyd8794 · March 28, 2016

Apart from the usual creaks and rattles from the dashboard ( easy to fix with a bit of patience and time ) check to make sure the engine does not idle rough when cold on start up ( could be sign of carbon build up , more of an issue in U.S due to lower quality fuel ). Also I've read that these engines can use quite a bit of oil but again haven't noticed this with my car. Suspension is really the weakest part of these as they are rather heavy. Could also be worth checking if all the recalls where done - mine just had the power steering unit replaced by Lexus.

LexusKB · March 29, 2016

I have a 2005 Mk3 GS300 SE-L. I bought it privately at 58,000 last year. The documented service book was not available from the owner, I was going to walk away from the possible deal! I verified the mot certificates and mileage online whilst looking around the car. It all checked out, the overall impression was that it had been well maintained; I was confident in the car as it was a steal (I offered the owner a lot less than the asking price) and in beautiful condition with fresh oil showing up on the dipstick.

The day after I bought it I contacted Lexus who sent out a replacement service book stamped up to 48,000 before the then current owner who had it serviced by a local mechanic. I also checked the recall history with Lexus which was up to date.

I am now at 62,000 and make sure that I use it for decent journeys (not tootling around town for 5 mins), in Scotland where I live there is little in the way of traffic which allows me to cruise easily. I just covered 260 miles with 5 adults who loved the quiet unflustered ride and the leg room in the back.

Everything works on the car apart from the drivers side puddle light on the mirror. I may have to replace the rear shocks as the service inspection showed a possible leak on both. I had a Volvo V 70 T5 before which was so powerful and I thought I'd miss it but I have to say this, the Lexus is a joy to drive, so relaxing and power when you need it and also economical!

I did take a risk buying privately but it was worth it as the car has proven excellent.

inflames · March 29, 2016

44 minutes ago, LexusKB said:

I have a 2005 Mk3 GS300 SE-L. I bought it privately at 58,000 last year. The documented service book was not available from the owner, I was going to walk away from the possible deal! I verified the mot certificates and mileage online whilst looking around the car. It all checked out, the overall impression was that it had been well maintained; I was confident in the car as it was a steal (I offered the owner a lot less than the asking price) and in beautiful condition with fresh oil showing up on the dipstick.

The day after I bought it I contacted Lexus who sent out a replacement service book stamped up to 48,000 before the then current owner who had it serviced by a local mechanic. I also checked the recall history with Lexus which was up to date.

I am now at 62,000 and make sure that I use it for decent journeys (not tootling around town for 5 mins), in Scotland where I live there is little in the way of traffic which allows me to cruise easily. I just covered 260 miles with 5 adults who loved the quiet unflustered ride and the leg room in the back.

Everything works on the car apart from the drivers side puddle light on the mirror. I may have to replace the rear shocks as the service inspection showed a possible leak on both. I had a Volvo V 70 T5 before which was so powerful and I thought I'd miss it but I have to say this, the Lexus is a joy to drive, so relaxing and power when you need it and also economical!

I did take a risk buying privately but it was worth it as the car has proven excellent.

You certainly took a risk without a service book being available, I have always walked away in those situations in the past! I went to do an MOT check on online yesterday as i forgot whilst i was at the dealers. But the dealer has blanked out the Number plate on the pictures on the Websites. So that will have to wait till tomorrow.

Another GS300 has just come on the Market 40 miles away so i will be having a look at that one too. I have also been keeping an eye on IS250’s F sports that have come up for sale near me, they both have 30k miles on with full lexus history and both the same price but are at my maximum what is double the price of the GS's

LexusKB · March 29, 2016

I was going to walk away from the car but the more I looked it over the more I realised it was in fantastic condition and had been looked after. The fact that the MOT certificates corroborated the mileage was enough to prompt me to take it for a test drive proving that the car felt tight and good on the road.

I would love a GS430 though but they are too rare and I am not prepared to travel more than 200 miles as I know how disappointing it can turn out.

inflames · March 30, 2016

Well just an update for you guys, i have taking the car noted above for a test drive today. Behold it actually has a service book, was in the glove box after all seems that the dealer never looked in there, i can’t say much as i didn’t either as he gave me a folder saying that all the paper work and receipts are all in here. So a little happier today. Car felt fine, was a little disappointed as the car had very little petrol considering i had already arranged to take a drive and could only take it for a quick 5 mile drive. But in that 5 mile, i managed to test it on a few twisty and back on the dual carriage way. One thing i noted was that one the display said one of the tyre had low pressure and the warning light was on in the right hand side i assumed this was due to the low pressure?

I also managed to check the DVLA MOT checker to confirm the mileage and it appears that the car for the last 3 years was only doing 3-5k miles a year.

Going to be looking at a couple of other cars tomorrow, going to be traveling to view a couple of GS450H’s and another GS300. I may even stop off and have a quick look at a IS250 F-Sport what is on route too.

mkbean · April 6, 2016

the TPMS warning probably means one or more of the pressure sensors is missing or broken. Over £100 a corner...

inflames · April 7, 2016

10 hours ago, mkbean said:

the TPMS warning probably means one or more of the pressure sensors is missing or broken. Over £100 a corner...

The price doesn't surprise me, how long do they take to replace any idea?

royoftherovers · April 7, 2016

Aaaron,

Would it not be possible to save spending money by simply not replacing it/them and checking the tyre pressures weekly like we all used to do ?

Regards

John

inflames · April 7, 2016

1 hour ago, royoftherovers said:

Aaaron,

Would it not be possible to save spending money by simply not replacing it/them and checking the tyre pressures weekly like we all used to do ?

Regards

John

Of coarse the old ways are still the best sometimes! I would like to in the future to have everything to be functioning properly on the car.

Sherra · April 7, 2016

Aaron

Don't worry about the small annual mileage, I often only did 3 thou per year with a previous Toyota Camry sport that I owned for 9+ years. (Wonderful car)

Mike Hartland · April 8, 2016

If I remember correctly, it is not possible to disable the TPMS without disabling other - more crucial - safety features. Whilst it is easy to be checking the tyres each week, those lights are annoying!